Article content
Cree artist Jared Bird, 26, and Chelsea Wabano, 29, died in the house fire that began in Chelsea’s bedroom, and trapped the household until a neighbor was able to break the window from the outside to let them escape, according to a Feb. 5 post on Chelsea’s mother Micheline Wabano’s Facebook Page.
David Joshua James Wesley remains in critical condition in Sudbury.“The investigation remains ongoing,” Scott Paradis with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service wrote The Daily Press in response to an emailed question on Friday.“NAPS Northeast Crime Unit remains the lead investigative agency and continues to work alongside the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, and OPP.”
Angus says a thorough fire safety review could be done through Nishnawbe Aski First Nation or another local organization and “come up with a tally of who is at risk, what shortfalls exist and come up with a plan to close existing safety gaps,” he told The Daily Press on Wednesday.“It’s not just in Peawanuck,” Angus said. “We have many communities in Treaty 9 where people are facing serious risk of fire and we need a broader strategy.”A week before the fire, Angus accused Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hadju of an inadequate response to a 2023 fire that killed a 10-year-old child in Peawanuck.
Angus said that due to high rates of poverty, many people in Treaty 9 territory heat their homes precariously with half cut oil barrels. He said that during the Attawapiskat housing crisis, the Red Cross brought in proper wood stoves, which is the kind of change he’d like to see the government support.
“The chances of dying in a house fire on a northern reserve are so much higher than anywhere else. That’s why when a tragedy happens, we need follow up.“In any of these northern communities, we could be seeing another situation like Peawanuck unless there is —and this is what I’ve suggested to the minister— a comprehensive overview plan that we can actually itemize the issues and then figure out ways to solve the shortfalls.”In a statement released Tuesday, Angus said “There was no fire truck or fire services to prevent the fire,” but was subsequently informed by the Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hadju that a fire truck was delivered to the community in March.
“Charlie Angus needs to get his facts straight,” wrote the minister’s press secretary Wednesday, Reem Sheet, in response to a request for comment.
“Minister Hajdu met with him yesterday and updated him on the situation, so it’s disappointing to see him relay misinformation. Now is not the time to be political, we should all be working together.“A new fire truck was purchased and delivered to the community in March 2023,” wrote Sheet.“The community also worked hard to build a new heated garage and completed it in November 2023. We are also working closely with the community as they complete the design phase of a new fire hall and start shipping materials through the winter roads,” he wrote.
According to Angus, the garage is an inadequate stop-gap measure.
“They are using a garage that is not a proper fire hall,” Angus said.
“It is very small. It is not adequate for the job. The community is doing this because they can’t leave a truck out in the cold. The issue here is that the department refused to cover of the cost of building a proper fire hall and told the community to go find the resources elsewhere.”
Angus says the federal government needs to provide basic infrastructure like a fire hall to the community.Minister Hadju’s spokesperson agrees more work needs to be done.“No one should have to experience what the families of Weenusk are going through,” Sheet continued.
“Last year, communities across the country gathered for the Inaugural First Nations First Responders. Together, we updated the First Nations Fire Protection Strategy. We also invested an immediate $10 million to support community-based needs, including education and prevention, smoke alarm installations, inspections, firefighter training and fire department communication projects.”
“We will be at the community’s side as they deal with the mental health consequences of this tragic fire and build up firefighting capacities.”